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Wednesday, October 17, 2012

S Pens Don't Get Along With Magnetic Fields

I've started to notice a spot on my Galaxy Note 2's screen where my S Pen will seem to go all crazy and inaccurate. Said spot is near the middle of the right edge of the screen. If I try writing or operating my S Pen at that particular spot, the writings and accuracy will seem to go randomly all over the place.

Oh how my poor heart breaks. Try imagining my utter dismay upon the thought that I bought my Note at retail price just four days ago and now this? I'm not gonna have to deal with this issue; it's a new device, so I made up my mind to go back to the mobile shop and make them do an exchange for me with a new set. I'm so dismayed that I've decided to take a cab home right after work so that I can get this over with as quickly as possible.

Sitting in front of my computer at home now and backing up the data on my Note 2, I decide to try my S Pen on it one last time. Who knows, perhaps a last minute miracle might just happen. By this point, I've already taken my Note out from its case which I bought for it, since I'm gonna exchange my Note for a new one and I'll transfer the case over to the new Note 2.

Pulling out my S Pen, I fire up S Note and begin to write at that 'troubled spot'..
I find myself muttering "What the?!" when the strokes from my S Pen go over that troubled spot on my Note's screen so smoothly and accurately. Apparently, I did receive my last minute miracle after all. Putting the case back on, the S Pen starts to go screwy again. Taking the case off, the S Pen behaves properly again.

So as things have turned out, the miracle wasn't that my Note decided to somehow rectify itself and finally function properly but rather, the fault lies with the case instead. My Note has been taken in and out from the case twice for this and each time, it has shown consistent results and so, putting 1 and 1 together, I get a 'faulty' case. Fucking rocket science.

But why was it only at that particular spot on the screen? Putting my Note back in the flip-book style case, it begin to dawn on me that behind that troubled spot on the screen is where the case's magnet used to secure the flap of the case is situated. Pulling the part of the case where the magnet is situated away from the phone so that it doesn't come into direct contact with it, my S Pen starts functioning properly again.

So the magnet has been the culprit all along and I consider myself to be extremely lucky that the fault actually lies with the case rather than with my Note.

So mystery solved and I can breathe again and I no longer have to make a trip down to that mobile shop. I'll just get myself a non-magnetic case, no biggie. Can you imagine how I would have felt if I did make an exchange, put the same case on the new Note 2 and experience the very same issue? Can't help but shudder just thinking about that.

If I condense and squeeze this entire blog post into just one sentence, it will be this:

Cases with magnets will screw up your Note's S Pen whenever the magnet comes into direct contact with the device.